Three Wishes
by KESwriter
Summary: While taking shelter from a storm in an antique shop, Reid encounters a lamp with a genie in it. His three wishes have far-ranging consequences and the team must decide how to navigate this new world.
1. Chapter 1

I get tired and frustrated when I can't find a plot thread I like. To those who have stuck by me, thanks, and I will return to my other stories in good time. I appreciate any and all input. Enjoy!

Three Wishes

 _To approach the stranger is to invite the unexpected, release a new force, let the genie out of the bottle. It is to start a new train of events that is beyond your control._

~T.S. Eliot

After the incident with the messiah, Prentiss told Reid to take some time off. Usually the comfort of being surrounded by his books was enough for him to destress after a traumatic event, but not this time. He chose to go for a walk.

Hearing Garcia scream for him to shoot someone while knowing it would end her life rattled him to the core. He loved his job, he loved the people he worked with, yet it was taking a toll on him mentally. Never did he raise question about whether a situation could be made worse, because the answer was always yes. This wouldn't be the first time Reid questioned whether his love of his job outweighed the damage it did to his psyche, but this was the first time it really reverberated through him.

Teaching was fun and fulfilling, but there was a certain mixture of anxiety and frustration that came from trying to keep a class interesting while hoping he was getting through to the students. He was used to an attentive audience in police precincts when attention spans varied among students. In the end, he didn't think teaching was a good long-term option as he wanted to be active in helping people.

He sighed. He just didn't know what he wanted anymore.

There was a bolt of lightning and it started to rain hard. It was odd as he had read the weather report and there wasn't supposed to be any rain today. He looked around for shelter and stepped into a shop called "Unique Antiques."

It was a small shop with a variety of plates, instruments, furniture, and other odd knickknacks that could be found in any other shop. He browsed around, but nothing really caught his interest.

"Can I help you?"

Reid turned around to see a short older woman with white hair in a bun and large round glasses.

"No, thank you," he said. "I came in to escape the rain. Your shop is nice though."

"Thank you," she said. "I think I might have something that you'd like."

Out of curiosity, Reid followed the woman to the corner of the shop. She presented him with a lamp old Arabic design. It had a long narrow spout on and large handle on the other end with a round top where the light came from.

"Interesting," Reid said.

"There's a little dust on it," she said. "Would you mind rubbing it off?"

Reid carefully used the edge of his thumb to wipe some dust away.

There was another lightning strike and the woman was gone. Standing in her place was a man in a sharp black suit with red dress shirt who appeared to be of Arabic descent.

"Do you know what I am?" the man said in a powerful booming voice.

"A genie?" Reid said incredulously.

"You only have three wishes," he said. "Use them wisely."

"Really?" Reid asked.

He wasn't sure if this was a dream or something else.

"Do you believe in genies, Spencer Reid?" he asked.

"No," he said. "They are of mythological origin dating back- "

"What do you want Spencer Reid?" the genie asked. "Wish for three things that you want, and they are yours."

He felt bold. His life wasn't going as well as he'd like. The idea of change appealed to him.

"I wish my mom never had schizophrenia and dementia, I wish Maeve Donovan was alive, I wish Stephen Walker was alive."

"Like in the movie," he said with smile. "Your wish is my command."

"What movie?" Reid asked as the genie clapped his hands above his head.

There was enormous clap of lightning and Reid was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for the support! I'll try to work on this regularly.

Chapter Two:

Feeling it her duty to arrive early as the leader of the team, Prentiss walked into BAU around seven-thirty. Not as early as Hotch, but still earlier than the rest of her colleagues.

Her eyes drifted to Reid's cubicle and she noticed it was arranged differently. Gone were the books and instead there were family photos. She approached it and what she saw made her gasp. They were photos of Stephen Walker's family.

Walker's name plate was at Reid's desk. Pictures of his wife and kids were arranged around the outbox and pen holder. A picture of a saxophone also adorned the space. It was as if Reid was never there.

Taking a step back, she turned around and entered her office. Feeling slightly foolish, she pinched herself. This wasn't a dream.

Not knowing what else to do, Prentiss booted up her computer. Something very strange was going on. Reid was here three days ago and now all traces of him were gone.

She Googled Walker. Listed were articles about his heroics and a profile in the paper about a music outreach program he was in charge of in the city. He described how he _survived_ Scratch's attack by a miracle in that his seatbelt snapped when it should have strangled him. He considered Matt Simons a close friend along with Luke Alvez.

Fearing the worst, she Googled Reid. To her surprise, a variety of articles popped up comparing him a younger, more successful version of Elon Musk. She didn't quite believe it until she saw his picture attached to one of his articles about how he planned on giving away half his net-worth of four billion before he turned forty. His main interest in terms of innovation were products that slowed the rate of global warming and space exploration. A new planet was discovered a few years ago through his tech that he called "DianaReid."

Feeling confused and conflicted, Prentiss looked out her window and saw Rossi.

She left her office and waved at him.

"Morning Emily," he said pleasantly.

"Rossi am I crazy or did a Spencer Reid work here at some point?" she asked carefully.

"No," he said slowly. "Unless he quit recently?"

"Look at Reid's desk," she said.

Rossi looked to the cubicle and the same look of shock appeared across his face.

"Walker survived?"

"According to Google he did."

"Then where is Reid?"

"Working as a self-made entrepreneur billionaire," Prentiss said.

Rossi pulled out his phone and did a quick search. His eyes also lit up. He turned to Prentiss.

"Are we living in the twilight zone?"

"What twilight zone?"

Prentiss and Rossi turned to see Walker approaching them.

"Hey Stephen," Prentiss said trying to sound cheerful. "We were just admiring those pictures of your family."

"Sometimes seeing a happy family is hard to imagine after so many dark days."

He smiled.

"I know. They're lovely, aren't they?"

"They are," Rossi said. "Emily, I have some files for you to look at. Can we do that now?"

"Sure," she said.

After walking up the stairs, Rossi closed the door to his office and Prentiss let out a breath.

"I'm so glad I'm not crazy," she said.

"I'm beginning to think I am though," he said. "How did this happen?"

"I have no idea," Prentiss said.

There was an urgent knocking on the door.

Prentiss opened it to see a very distressed J.J.

"What is a dead guy doing sitting at Spencer's desk?" she demanded.

"So, we're not the only ones who are crazy," Rossi said.

"What is going on?" J.J. asked as Prentiss closed the door.

"Let's think this through in an organized way," Prentiss said slowly. "Walker doesn't know he's supposed to be dead. We need to create a timeline where Reid would have joined the team."

"That sounds like a good idea," Rossi said sitting down. "I'll access the personnel logs."

There was a knock on the door.

Garcia appeared.

"Where's boy wonder?" she asked.

"Come on in," Rossi said.

Prentiss quickly closed the door.

"According to Google, he's a billionaire."

Garcia sat down.

"This is crazy!" she said. "After all we went through and he's what?"

Prentiss pulled out her phones and loaded the results. She handed it to Garcia. Garcia stared at it.

"I don't know what to feel," she said. "I'm happy for him, but I want him here."

"Perplexed is what I'm feeling," Rossi said.

"I prefer the term angry," J.J. said. "I want him back."

"I'll take perplexed," Prentiss said.

"I just don't know what to think," Garcia said.

Prentiss looked out Rossi's window. She wondered who else knew Reid used to be an FBI agent instead of a tech genius billionaire.

…

Around the same time Reid woke to the view of the sunrise in California. The sight of the ocean outside while living on the edge of San Diego was peaceful.

He looked to his side and sighed. It was hard finding companionship that wasn't interested in his money even for good causes like his last one. People were often under the impression he had it all. The truth was he craved more close friends and people to call family outside his parents.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for the reviews!

Chapter Three:

Prentiss told everyone to leave Rossi's office and to try to act as if everything was business as usual. It was going to be hard, but they had to do so for the sake of the team.

Focusing on work was difficult. For every case file she reviewed, she spent five minutes looking up Reid's life. It appeared that his parents never broke up and his mother didn't have schizophrenia as she was currently a tenured professor in Las Vegas. He was named runner up Time person of the year and ranked in the top ten as one of the most influential innovators for the last eight years. Reid appeared to have it all.

There was a knock on her door. Garcia appeared.

"I think I have a way for us too meet Reid," she said.

"How?" Prentiss asked.

Garcia presented her with a case file.

"Three people have been killed in the last two weeks across California," she said. "The only common factor is all of them worked for Artemis Innovations, the company Reid founded."

Prentiss looked over the file. The victims were of different age, race, and murdered differently. Artemis Innovations was the only common denominator.

"Who requested our services?"

"You'll see in the notes that it was Reid who actually approached the police about the death of his employees."

"Do we have any other urgent cases?" she asked.

"None that I am aware of," Garcia said.

"Start making copies and I'll notify San Diego PD."

Prentiss paused briefly and wondered if they would see Reid and how he would react if at all, when he saw them.

…

"This unsub is highly organized if he's traveling hundreds of miles," Lewis said.

"And in control," Alvez said. "Going from beating someone to death to using a gun involves a lot of impulse control."

"It will be interesting to read the files on Artemis Innovations to find other common factors," Walker said.

"Garcia, you're coming with us," Prentiss said. "Artemis employs a thousand people globally and your expertise would help on the ground."

"Understood," she said.

"Pinning a timeline down is going to be hard but I want this guy found," Prentiss said. "Wheels up in thirty."

…

"So, have we discussed the case thoroughly enough?" Walker asked.

"For now," Prentiss said looking at the file.

"Then can we discuss why half the team has been looking at me strangely all day?"

"What?" Prentiss said.

"Even you look at me as if something is off and I can't tell what. It's like you're surprised I'm here even though I was here yesterday."

"We all had a rough night of sleep," Prentiss said. "Scratch's anniversary is coming and some of us can't get over how close we came to losing you."

Walker looked around.

"You all had the same bad dreams?"

"I didn't," Alvez said.

"Neither did I," Simmons said.

Walker stared at J.J.

"Stephen, some of us have been working together for more than half a decade. We're family and we start to think alike in some ways."

"Does anybody have a better answer?" Walker asked.

"We're being truthful," Prentiss said.

"I have a feeling there is more to this, but I'll let it go for now," Walker said.

He put on his headphones on high and jazz music could be heard. Rossi looked to Prentiss.

"This is going to be a tough case."

"I know," she said.

…

They noticed a small group of a paparazzi outside the station. Captain Clint Samson met them at the door.

"You'll see what that is about in a minute," he said after introductions were made. "Thank you for coming down. It's been a week since the last murder in our area, but the idea of a serial killer roaming around has us all on edge."

"That's understandable," Rossi said.

Alvez noted the coffee bar in the corner.

"I bet some precincts would kill for that," he said.

"The perks of having a billionaire philanthropist living your jurisdiction," Samson said.

Samson opened the door to the conference room.

"Speaking of who," he said. "Dr. Reid, the federal agents here."

Reid looked like he had in the magazine article she read. He was wearing a casual blazer over a navy-blue polo shirt with jeans and sneakers. His hair was about the same length as she last saw him.

"Hello," he politely.

Prentiss recovered from the shock of seeing him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Dr. Reid," she said and waved. "I know you don't like germs."

He waved back, looking slightly surprised.

"You've done your homework."

"So, what brings you here?" Walker asked.

"I have brought all my files and set up some maps for you," he said. "You have access to my personnel records, complaints against employees, and threats made against my company."

"You're making my job easy, boy wonder!" Garcia gushed.

"Boy wonder?" Reid said curiously.

Garcia blushed.

"Garcia gets a little carried away and assigns pet names when people do things that make her life easier," Prentiss said.

"Sorry," she added.

"It's okay," he said. "I'm used to enthusiastic supporters."

Garcia looked at the brand-new high-end computer in the corner.

"It's yours," he said. "You can even set the password."

J.J. looked at the board.

"Nice geographic profiling," she said.

"It's just triangulation and connecting dots," he said with a shrug.

"Then let's get to work," Walker said.

"I hope you catch the guy quickly," Reid said and pulled out a card. "This is my private number if you need anything."

Prentiss gave him her card.

"If you think of anything else, here's mine," she said.

"Thanks. It was nice meeting you," he said.

He then left.

"Okay," Prentiss said. "Let's start dividing up the work. And Garcia don't get too attached to that computer. You're giving it back to him at the end of the case."

"Rats," she said.

…

Reid fixed himself his last cup of coffee for the night. He was glad the FBI was in town to find who was killing his employees. Hopefully, they were making progress.

There was a buzzing on the intercom. Reid used his tablet to see one of the agents from earlier outside his gate.

"Hi," he said. "I'm Agent Stephen Walker, I have just a few questions for you."

"Okay," he said. "Can I see your badge?"

Walker flashed it quickly. Reid buzzed opened the gates.

He then went to the door and opened it. Walker climbed the steps to meet him.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me so late," he said. "So why does to the team seem to love you?"

"Excuse me?" Reid said.

"I saw the way some of them looked at you. They seemed more familiar with you than they should. Who are you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Reid said.

Walker's eyes flashed red.

"LIAR!" he roared and grabbed Reid by the neck.

"I want the truth!" he growled in a voice that didn't sound human.

At this point Reid know reasoning was out of the question. He stomped on the man's foot pushed out of his grip.

"Get back here!" he shouted.

Reid ran as fast as he could. He heard the sound of gun shots and felt one hit his left leg. It exploded in pain as he entered his study. Desperately, he reached for a book and a hidden door appeared. Walker had rounded the corner as Reid shut the door.

The police were immediately alerted whenever the safe room was open. He just had to wait Walker out. He decided to dial Prentiss using the phone in the room.

"Hello?" she said.

"It's Reid," he said as he let out a moan of pain. His leg was killing him.

"Reid are you okay?"

"I think one of your agents is having a psychotic break," he said. "He wasn't making any sense and shot me in the leg."

"Oh god, are the police on the way?"

"Yeah," he said.

The door to his room shifted.

"Agent Prentiss," he said desperately. "Have Garcia hack the surveillance in my house. The password is 'John Smith.' I need proof of this."

"Calling her now," she said.

His leg hurt horribly as he pushed things around and found his gun. The door exploded open. Walker appeared with blazing red eyes as his flesh appeared to be rotting. Reid shot blindly.

Going into shock, he thought he heard in Arabic:

"Be careful what you wish for!"

Author's Note:

Hopefully, there will a shorter wait time between chapters. I like the idea from the Disney version of Aladdin where Genie suggested he could possibly raise the dead, but it would have bad consequences. This was fun!


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for the support!

Chapter Four:

Garcia and J.J. were told to wait at the hospital. Just as she pulled into his driveway, she caught a glimpse of him. He was in a stretcher being loaded into an ambulance. Prentiss immediately put the car in park and got out. She flashed her credentials and got into the van where she could hear him moaning.

"Reid, I'm here," she said.

His bloody pants leg had been ripped open and covered in bandages. Prentiss looked at his paler-than-usual face. He smiled weakly through the oxygen mask.

"Thanks," he whispered.

"There's no room for any riders," one of the EMTs said. "You can meet him at San Diego Central."

"Okay," she said backing.

Reid waved weakly and then let out a horrible moan of pain. The ambulance doors were quickly shut. Prentiss was left in a cloud of smoke as the vehicle sped off with sirens blaring.

Resisting the urge to follow, Prentiss went into the mansion to investigate what happened. Garcia said the video cut out just after Walker shot Reid. She felt herself growing sick as she followed the trail of blood through the house.

What she saw next, made no sense. There was Walker on his back with a hole in his chest at the entrance to the safe room. But he didn't look like the Stephen Walker she saw a few hours ago. The flesh was rotting off his body. If seeing the blood made her sick, seeing a deader version of Walker made her positively nauseous.

"I have a question."

Prentiss turned around to see an older man with short curly gray hair and a slightly ratty trench coat over a crumpled gray suit.

"Did you ever know this man as being dead before?"

"Who are you?" she asked.

He pulled out his credentials.

"Special Agent Bill Morris of the Special Investigations West Coast Unit of the FBI."

"Special Investigations," Prentiss said. "Isn't that the black budget section of the FBI?"

"Technically correct."

"Are you the reason there aren't CSIs swarming the scene?" she said.

"Our special unit is preparing a plan to tent the house," he said. "Now answer my question: Did you ever know this man as being dead before?"

"Would you believe me if I said yes?"

"You wouldn't believe what I believe."

"Yes," she said with a sigh. "Walker died in Scratch's attack on my team just over a year ago."

"Was Reid close with Walker?"

"No," she said. "Reid barely knew him because he was incarcerated a few months after he joined the team. Oh, I sound crazy."

"Not to me you don't," he said. "If I had to guess your friend Reid made a deal with a genie."

"What!?" she said. "That makes no sense."

"How do you explain the rotting corpse on the floor that was your agent three hours ago?"

"I-I don't know," Prentiss stuttered.

"Allow me to enlighten you: Your friend made three wishes. One of them was to resurrect Walker. If you remember the movie Aladdin, genies can resurrect the dead, but the one Al met didn't like to. The one Reid met does. When you resurrect the dead, the person can live a normal life unless he or she encounters the person who wished them back to life. Then they turn into rage monsters until they are killed again."

"This is unbelievable," Prentiss said.

"Start believing, Agent Prentiss," he said. "Reid has two more wishes, who knows who else he might have resurrected and where they live."

"I think I can guess them," she said reviewing the articles read mentally and what she knew about Reid. "He wished his mother never had schizophrenia or dementia and that a woman, Maeve I think, was alive."

"Maeve is in DC?" Morris asked.

"To my knowledge, yes."

"Keep them apart," he said. "Next you have to kill the genie to end the wishes."

"How do I do that, and I thought that was your job?"

"My job is to come up with good cover stories for messes. From the way you talk it sounds as though he used to work for you. You're better equipped at finding the genie. You can kill a genie by destroyed the lamp. A gunshot or explosives will do the trick. He probably stumbled upon the lamp somewhere around where he lives. Good luck."

Morris turned around to leave.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"To get some and air meet my team," he said. "It smells like a rotting corpse in there."

"How do I explain this to _my_ team?"

"If they believed Reid used to work with you, they're likely to believe in genies."

"What about Reid?"

"Be honest with him about your feelings. You've compartmentalized every time your heart broke when you saw him suffer to the point where you're afraid you're becoming inhuman. Tell him how you feel."

"What do you know about any of that?" she demanded.

"There's no such thing wizards or witches. Just spirits and those who can see them more clearly than others. I am one of those people and I can read emotions better than most too. It made my gramps a brilliant military general."

People in hazmat suits arrived.

"Tell him what you feel comfortable telling him Agent Prentiss," he said. "And don't forget what I said about feelings too, because nothing in life is guaranteed."

"Thank you, Agent Morris," she said as she left.

"Have a good night."

While she left with more questions than answers about what to do, she also left with a resolve to stop this "genie." Questions about how she really felt about Reid lingered also.


End file.
